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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Bilow who wrote (193878)	7/30/2006 7:17:34 PM
From: geode00	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

Well Carl, I disagree that Iraq is a 'don't care' kind of war: - It's bankrupting us to the tune of $11 million/hour. Just a quick calculation means that every man, woman and child is paying out over $300/year for this grinding affair with no end in sight. That does not include the increased energy costs, the opportunity costs, the cost of the dead and wounded, the cost of major replacement equipment, the cost of future conflicts stemming from this including terrorist incidents, etc. - There are some 135,000 military in Iraq and an untold number of contractors. They've been there for over 3 years, small countries could not afford this. - How much is Israel expending versus what a small country could muster? Aside from those expensive bombing raids and whatever else they're shooting long range, they also have the unspoken threat of incredibly expensive nukes hidden away. These aren't things small players can come up with. There has been a back door draft for years in the US. Reservists who should have been able to retire have been told it's tough noogies. There's a lowering of standards and a raising of ages in order to get more bodies shoved in to be sent to Iraq. There's no 'official' draft but there certainly are the conditions for one. So far, the military has been able to hobble along with a little bit of cheating here and there but how long will this last? I've always been for a draft...a no excuses draft...for all able-bodied men and women up to, say, the age of 50. That would mean few wars would be fought and NO wars like Iraq would be attempted. Older people (well, ok, most older people) aren't as stupid as 18 year olds. Seen gas and energy prices lately? Seen old people dying because they can't afford A/C? Seen small businesses going belly up because they can't afford transportation any longer? Although this isn't entirely caused by the disruptions in the ME, they aren't helping either. Seen the national debt lately? Seen interest rate rise and housing begin to slump? These are the TAXES of war that never needed to be fought and this war isn't even remotely over yet. It's not as clear as Victory Gardens and Rosie the Riveter but the costs are definitely coming home to roost. cluck cluck cluck